Hoping for Tomorrow
by aqua-illusions
Summary: A/U. 17 has killed all the Z fighters except Marron, Kuririn, and Goten. They cannot hope to beat him until a certain saiya-jin prince falls into thier lives. T/M
1. Chapter 1

NOTE: Vegeta never came to earth in this timeline.  
  
BACKGROUND:  
  
Everyone had thought that #17 was free of his original programming. He had more trouble overcoming it than 18, but with help from Bulma he was able to leave behind the monster that Dr. Gero had made him. Or so they thought.   
  
He was accepted as one of the gang, they trusted him and no one had expected him to turn on them. There was a subroutine hidden deep in 17's programming that had lain dormant, it was the same subroutine that had corrupted the 17 and 18 of the Mirai timeline. Without warning 17 had become a ruthless killing machine. Goku and Gohan were the first to go. They were killed before they had a chance to defend themselves. Piccolo was the next to fall. Soon after all the Z fighters had been killed, only 18, Kuririn, and infants Marron and Goten remained. 17 had tried to get 18 to join him, but she had remained opposed to him. 17, in his rage, killed her, but she had distracted him long enough for the others to escape.  
  
Many years later **********  
  
She woke up with a jerk, her sheets tangled around her and hair plastered to her forehead with sweat. The red phantom numbers blinking in the darkness read 4:37. She sighed and rolled over out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom.   
  
Flicking on the light, she groggily made her way to the mirror. She gazed at her reflection, tracing her fingers along the cold glass, thinking "She looks so sad, so unfamiliar… so lonely" The girl in the mirror stared back, with shadowed eyes that looked so empty and distant.  
  
She stood there for a long time, just looking at herself in the mirror, thinking, "How did I turn into her?"  
  
**********  
  
She felt something watching her. Instinctively she tensed and sharpened her senses, barely moving, but ready to snap into a defensive position. A short, shadowy figure stepped out into the light.  
  
"Hey Kid-o," Kuririn sleepily mumbled to her.   
  
She instantly relaxed as her father staggered into the room. He glanced at her quizzically, "What are you awake for?" he asked. She grinned at him as he struggled to wake up enough to hold a decent conversation.   
  
"I could ask you the same question," She teased. He glared at her, clearly not in the mood to be made fun of.   
  
"Just go back to sleep soon," He said, "You know how you are when you don't get enough sleep".   
  
"Okay, I will" She replied innocently.   
  
"G'night Marron," He said turning to leave.   
  
"G'night Dad."  
  
**********  
  
Marron lay on her bed for a long time, unable to sleep, thinking about her life. Her struggle. She had spent her entire life training, learning to fight, learning to run. She was hunted by a monster, who was, in a way, her uncle. He was a merciless android that had killed all her friends and loved ones.  
  
She struggled to hold on to what things had been like before, but it had been so long. Sometimes her father would tell her stories about the adventures from his youth. Stories about the others…her friends…her mother. She curled up under the blankets and fought off the tears. Goten and her father were the only ones she had left. Kuririn had trained them both to fight, to protect themselves. Even though she was half android and Goten was half saiya-jin, neither them, nor her father, were a match for 17. They lived in hiding, forever running away from the monster that they could not defeat.   
  
She heard Goten's muffled snores through the wall; she almost smiled as she thought of her best friend. They had grown up together, Kuririn had raised them both. She loved him like a brother. The sound of his snoring lulled her to sleep.  
  
**********  
  
"Marron! Come on, get up!" a voice yelled as it bounced in through the door of her bedroom. Marron sat up groggily. The smell of smoke and faint swearing drifted up through her floorboards.   
  
"Sounds like Kuririn tried to make breakfast again," Goten said as he sat down on the edge of her bed.  
  
She sighed and threw back the covers. A crashing sound was heard from downstairs. "You'd better go help him not to blow anything up until I can get down there," she said.  
  
"Okay!" said Goten as he bounded out the door.  
  
Marron sighed again and started to get dressed. Her father had never been a good cook, he had tried the best he could, but he could never quite get the hang of it.   
  
She finished getting ready and headed downstairs to assess the damage. When she opened the door to the kitchen she almost collapsed into convulsions of laughter. Kuririn was standing there in a frilly pink apron, heroically doing battle with a pan of scrambled eggs. Goten was hiding behind him shouting encouragement.  
  
Kuririn brandished his spatula menacingly at the stove. "Take that!" he cried triumphantly, stabbing the semi-charred lump of eggs. Goten cheered. Kuririn glared suspiciously at the pan and yelled, "One more move like that and I'm ki-blasting you to hell!"  
  
Marron sighed and grabbed a smoking oven mitt from her father. She calmly deposited the hardly recognizable hunk of charcoal into the garbage. After cleaning up a little more she reached in the cabinet for the cereal.  
  
"Honestly you two, you should have learned your lesson by now," she giggled, "Dad, you and cooking don't mix."  
  
Kuririn's sheepish expression was replaced by one of total defeat. He sighed and grabbed bowls for them. "Hey you think that it's easy feeding three people, especially when one is a bottomless pit like Goten!" he said defensively.   
  
"Hey!" Goten yelled, "It's not my fault that I have a healthy appetite!"  
  
Marron snickered, "Yeah, healthy enough for an army," She retorted.  
  
Goten just snorted and continued stuffing his face.  
  
**********  
  
After breakfast they all went outside for their daily training session. It was almost comforting to Marron to be able to have some routine in her life. She loved training, feeling her body reach its full potential, and exceed beyond it.  
  
After stretching and doing some warm ups they started sparring, splitting into two on one and rotating. That way they could get practice both in fighting together and individually.  
  
Marron readied herself for Goten and Kuririn's team attack. She took up a stance and waited for them to make the first move. Goten launched himself at her straight on and started throwing rapid-fire punches while Kuririn attacked from above. Marron managed to block Goten's punches and kicked him solidly in the chest, sending him back a few feet, which gave her time to send a ki blast up at Kuririn. He dodged the blast and shot one back at her, she raised her arms and blocked it, but that gave Goten an opening and he slammed into her, tackling her to the ground. She used her momentum to flip him over her head at Kuririn. They regrouped and came back to attack her together, punching and kicking with lightning speed. Marron managed to block most of the attacks, but a few got through her defenses. She shot straight up, taking the fight airborne. Kuririn and Goten were close on her heels following her up.  
  
*FLASH*  
  
All three of them suddenly stopped in their tracks when they felt two huge kis erupt into battle. Marron recognized one of them as 17. The wheels in her mind spun as she tried to process this new information. There was someone else? Someone who had enough power to oppose 17? Why hadn't she felt this person before? Could it be one of her friends? She reached out with her mind again. No, she didn't recognize this new person. She looked at Kuririn and Goten. They looked just as surprised and confused as she was. She felt the two powers raging against each other, and suddenly the new ki started to flicker and fade. 17 had won.  
  
"No, don't die!" Marron yelled as she felt the fading power. She turned to Goten and Kuririn, "We have to find that person, they could become an ally! We can't let them die." She yelled.  
  
"Wait Marron," Kuririn ordered, "we don't know who this person is, they could be an enemy."  
  
"Or they might turn out to be a help to us," Goten replied.  
  
"Either way," said Marron, "we have to find out who this person is!"  
  
The ki was stable now, but very small, the person was probably very injured.  
  
Marron glared at her father, "We must at least find out," she demanded.  
  
Kuririn sighed, "Okay, but we will proceed with caution."  
  
"Let's go!" yelled Goten as he took off, Marron close behind.  
  
Kuririn shook his head and followed after them.  
  
**********  
  
Goten and Marron floated down until they reached the place where they felt the battle had been. 17 was nowhere to be seen. The landscape was ripped up and chunks of broken rock were scattered everywhere due to the massive amounts of power that had collided.  
  
"Look over there," Goten called out, "there's someone down there."  
  
They flew down towards the crater where a figure lay at the bottom.  
  
"I can still feel a faint life force," said Marron.  
  
Sprawled out on the ground was a bloody young man. Marron landed next to him and carefully rolled him over.  
  
"He's just unconscious," she said, studying the purple haired figure, "but he is badly injured. We need to get him out of here."  
  
Goten nodded and looked up as he felt Kuririn approaching. Kuririn landed and stared at the broken body in shock. "That's saiya-jin armor!"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
***********************************************  
Okay, this is my first crack at a fanfic, so I hope that it's good. Please give me feedback, and I know everyone says this, but please review, it really helps to know that someone out there is actually reading this stuff.  
  
The next chapter will be up as soon as possible, and hopefully I can start my joyful little matchmaking then.   
  
'Till next time, bye y'all.  
  
-aqua_illusion 


	2. Chapter 2

First I want to thank all my reviewers, I really love you guys. This is my first fic and I was really terrified about what people would say. Everyone had such nice and supportive comments and really appreciate it.  
  
Oops! I forgot to do my disclaimer last chapter! Gaaaahhhh! Please forgive me and don't sue me!  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't claim to.  
  
Ok, now to respond to people's questions:  
  
To Eric S.: Yeah, I forgot about that. What if Marron & Co. could sense the energy from the attacks he was blasting rather than from 17 himself? Or maybe when 17 switched from being a bad guy Bulma tinkered around a bit and made him the new and improved 17! She can do it, she has the technology, she can make him better, stronger, faster than ever before. So now he has a ki signature.  
  
To AGlaxiaGoddess: Well in my story Trunks is a full saiya-jin, so his mother was sort of like Bulma's saiya-jin counterpart. It doesn't exactly work but just suspend your disbelief and go with the flow. P.S. Thanks for the grammar tip, my mom is an obsessive editor and she would hang me up by my ankles if she knew what I've done. *Sniff*, I'm so ashamed of myself, but I'm sure that I'm gonna forget in about 10 seconds and make the same mistake again.  
  
To Aerith: Yay! A fellow T/M fan! I'm so glad the fight scene was clear, that was one of my big worries. The idea of Kuririn trying to cook like that just cracks me up; I couldn't resist writing about it.  
  
To Vaarj: Yup! It's everyone's favorite purple-haired warrior, Trunks!  
  
To bluefire: Thank you! I am trying to be original but everything under the sun has been done before, and it's kind of hard to come up with a completely unique idea.  
  
Yipee! Now on to the story!  
  
**********  
  
Marron sat next to the bed, changing the bandages on the injured stranger. She and Goten had brought him back to their hideout and cleaned him up. Kuririn had confirmed this new arrival to be a saiya-jin when he found the crashed space pod near the battle site.  
  
Marron sighed and looked down at him. He really was in bad shape. Even with saiya-jin healing powers he had been unconscious for six days so far. Either she or Goten had stayed with him constantly, in case he woke up. She wondered what he was like.what his name was. what color eyes he had. She sat up and scolded herself mentally, she didn't even know him!  
  
She was just finishing tying up the final bandage when Goten sprung into the room, followed by Kuririn.  
  
"Hi Marron! Soups on! And don't worry, I made dinner today so you don't have to choke down Kuririn's cooking," Goten said happily.  
  
"Hey!" Kuririn shouted, looking indignant, "My food isn't that bad!"  
  
Marron rolled her eyes, "Sure Dad," she said as she walked out towards the kitchen. She was glad Goten took care of the food; he was actually a good cook. 'He would have to be with how much food he eats,' she thought, 'no one can eat that much and not learn anything about how to prepare it.'  
  
She reached the kitchen and smiled at the amount of food Goten had made. He claimed he was making extra in case the injured saiya-jin woke up, he insisted that a healing body needs extra food, especially when that body is a saiya-jin who hasn't eaten for a week. In reality it was only an excuse so Goten could have an extra portion. She laughed and sat down to eat.  
  
**********  
  
Goten yawned as he sat down do the "night shift" for their guest. He was glad that this person had come here; he had always wanted to have another saiya-jin around. It was hard for him to be the only one, Marron could understand a little of what he was going through because she was half android, but sometimes he felt very alone. He wanted to know more about saiya-jin culture and life, to get a better understanding of his father's race. He was glad to get the opportunity to do so, now all he needed was for the other saiya-jin to wake up.  
  
At that exact moment the stranger's eyes snapped open and he sat up and glared at Goten.  
  
"Who are you?!" He demanded, "Where is this place!"  
  
Goten smiled at him and said, "I'm Goten! What's your name?"  
  
"I am Trunks, Prince of all saiya-jins!" He replied imperiously, "Now answer my questions!"  
  
Goten scratched the back of his head innocently, "Which questions?"  
  
Trunks looked closely at Goten, "Your hair! No, you couldn't be.or are you?" he mumbled in disbelief, "Are you a saiya-jin?"  
  
"Yup!" Goten grinned, "Well, half saiya-jin anyway."  
  
Trunks looked like he was about to faint again, "There are others." he whispered.  
  
Goten's face fell a little, "I'm the only one here." He said, "My father and brother.they were killed."  
  
Trunks turned away from him, "I too am the last of my family, and all of Vegeta-sei. I came here looking for any others who might have survived the destruction of our home planet, it appears that you and I are the last."  
  
At that moment the door swung open and Marron strode into the room. "He's awake!" she said looking at them.  
  
"I am Trunks, prince of all saiya-jins." The purple-haired saiya-jin said, looking her up and down. 'She is the most beautiful women I have ever seen,' He thought, then he shook his head, trying to clear it, 'I have been in a space pod too long, acting like this over the first women I see. This is no way for a saiya-jin prince to act! Besides she probably has a mate already'  
  
"I'm Marron." She looked at him trying to stop her heart from beating to loud. 'He's gorgeous!' she thought.  
  
"Hi Marron!" Goten said, "Hey Trunks, you must be hungry, you've been out for almost a week!"  
  
Trunks stomach rumbled loudly at the mention of food, Marron laughed.  
  
"Ok, Goten, you and I will go make a midnight snack while Trunks here gets dressed" Marron directed, turning to Trunks she said, "Your armor was pretty beat up when we found you, but there are some clothes you can borrow from Goten over there in the top drawer on the left. When you're done we'll be in the kitchen, which is the room at the end of the hall."  
  
Trunks nodded and Goten and Marron left the room.  
  
**********  
  
"So Goten, what do you think of our guest?" Marron asked as she shuffled around the kitchen gathering together enough food for her and two hungry saiya-jins.  
  
"Trunks? He's nice, I want him to stay awhile. It would be cool to have another friend! Maybe he would spar with me!" Goten said happily, grabbing the ingredients from Marron as she sat down.  
  
She heard a small cough and turned to see Trunks standing in the doorway, picking at one of his bandages. "Hey Trunks, come on in, take a seat," She said.  
  
Trunks came in and sat down at the table with Marron while Goten stirred a pot on the stove.  
  
Trunks looked at her, "You're Human?" He asked.  
  
"Not quite," She replied, "my father is human, but my mother was an android."  
  
"An android? Like that thing I fought?"  
  
"Yes." She said hesitantly, "He is my mother's twin brother."  
  
Trunks leapt back from the table, sending his chair flying across the room. "You are allied with him?!" He asked, glaring at Marron and Goten.  
  
"No! He is broken, corrupted. He killed my mother because she wouldn't join him." Marron screamed at him. "He killed Goten's family and all our friends. He has killed everyone, except us two and my father, he may be my uncle, but he is not my ally."  
  
"Why do you not avenge them and kill it!" Trunks asked.  
  
"You fought him, you've seen how powerful he is, we don't have enough strength to beat him, so we run, we hide, and we wait." Goten said.  
  
Trunks scoffed, "I am alive today because my enemies are dead."  
  
"Well 17 seems to have kicked your ass pretty hard, so it seems that he is your enemy now too." Marron said.  
  
Trunks growled, "Since my space pod was practically destroyed when I crashed on this miserable dirt ball, it appears that I am stuck here, so I propose to help you fight, because you look like you could use it." He said.  
  
Marron fumed, "We do not need your help," she said, storming out of the room.  
  
"Don't worry about her," Goten said, putting a heaping plate of food down in front of Trunks, "She is just grumpy from not getting enough sleep. You can stay with us as long as you like."  
  
**********  
  
Okay! I finished part two! Yay! This one was really hard for me, I had some serious writers block.  
  
*Sniff, Sniff* school is starting tomorrow! So I probably wont get to update as often as I'd like, but I will try to get 'em up as fast as I can  
  
Please give me feedback, and I know everyone says this, but please review, it really helps to know that someone out there is actually reading this stuff.  
  
-aqua_illusion 


	3. Chapter 3

Hiya everyone, here is the next installment! I'm sorry that the plot is moving along sort of slowly, but I have to take time to develop everything. Anyway, I sort of like the little hanging-out type of scenes. Oh well.  
  
Bring on the story!  
  
Disclaimer: Go ahead, sue me.  
  
**********  
  
Marron awoke the next day and feeling a lot less crabby than she had the night before, she didn't really dislike Trunks that much; he hadn't really done anything wrong. She sighed and headed downstairs.  
  
When she reached the bottom of the staircase she heard her father's whistling mingling with the sounds of two hungry saiya-jins wolfing down their first meal of the day. She entered the kitchen and saw everyone sitting at the table together, clearly her father had already met Trunks. Marron sat down next to Goten.  
  
"So Goten, save any food for me?" She asked.  
  
"I'd watch out if I were you, I didn't get down here in time to stop Kuririn from making breakfast. Most of this would be better used for biological weaponry." Goten responded.  
  
Marron and Trunks laughed.  
  
"Hey! You seem to be eating a lot of it!" Kuririn said, defensively.  
  
"Yeah, well my super-strong saiya-jin stomach could handle it, but any lesser creature would have perished at the mere smell." Goten shot back.  
  
Kuririn huffed and turned around to get some more coffee, while his back was turned Trunks skillfully aimed a charred bit of toast at him, and flung it with his spoon at Kuririn's unprotected back.  
  
Kuririn spun around, "GOTEN!" he shouted, ready to kill.  
  
"What? Did I do something?" Goten asked innocently.  
  
"That's it!" Kuririn shrieked as he lunged at Goten.  
  
"AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!" Goten screeched, running away from the enraged nose- less man chasing after him.  
  
Marron had seen that Trunks was the one to propel the flying toast, and she watched all the antics that had happened. She fell off her chair laughing, joining Trunks who's quiet snickering had soon turned into real laughter. They doubled up in hysterics watching Kuririn chase Goten around the table.  
  
"Help me!" Goten shouted as he ran for his life.  
  
Kuririn was on the saiya-jin's heels yelling threats of what he planned to do to Goten given enough time for preparation and the proper tools.  
  
Marron leaned against Trunks as they snickered together, pointing at Goten and Kuririn unable to talk because she was laughing so hard.  
  
**********  
  
That night Marron, Goten and Trunks sat outside; the moon was a crescent so Trunks didn't have to worry about accidentally going oozaru.  
  
"So Trunks, why did you decide to come to earth?" Marron asked.  
  
"Well, when all the other saiya-jins were killed when Vegeta-sei was blown up, my father thought that he and I were the only ones left. I grew up only knowing my father, but when I was 15, he went into battle with a very powerful opponent, he won, but he had used so much of his energy while fighting that he died as a result. Every since then I have been on my own, wondering. One day I found an old man who said that he had worked on Vegeta- sei before its destruction, he told me that not all the saiya-jin had been killed, he said that one had been sent to this planet, so I came here in search of another of my race." He replied, looking sad.  
  
"And you found me!" Goten said cheerily.  
  
"Yes, and we are the last." Trunks said, disheartened.  
  
"And if we don't train 17 will kill all of us and there won't be any more saiya-jins left." Marron said and stood up and stretched. She began to practice, throwing punches and kicking in the air as Trunks and Goten watched from a little ways away.  
  
'Wow, look at the way she moves, she must be a strong fighter.' Trunks thought to himself, inwardly smirking, "A good opponent."  
  
"Hey Trunks, can you do this?" Goten asked, breaking Trunks out of his thoughts. Goten concentrated and focused his ki, his hair whipped up around him and turned gold and his eyes became a shocking empty green.  
  
Trunks was completely floored, "You're a super saiya-jin too?" He asked in shock.  
  
"Yup!"  
  
"I thought the only ones who had ever managed to reach that state were me and my father, no other saiya-jin has been able to break through to that level for over a thousand years!" Trunks said.  
  
"Well I can, and my father and brother could too." Goten said.  
  
Trunks just shook his head in disbelief.  
  
"Hey, wanna spar?" Goten said hopefully.  
  
Trunks smirked, "Prepare to meet your doom, you are no match for the Prince of all Saiya-jins!" he said.  
  
"Oh? I don't think so Purple-top!" Goten retorted.  
  
"Bring it on Spiky!" Trunks countered, going super saiya-jin.  
  
With a yell they clashed, each one trying to knock the other sense-less.  
  
A little ways away Marron stopped her practice to watch the other two battle it out. 'Those saiya-jins, can't sit still for ten second without eating or fighting.' She thought. Suddenly a stray ki blast shot down right at her, "Hey you guys, watch where you throw those things!" She yelled, dodging it. Another one sailed right at her. "Alright! You asked for it!" She shouted, blasting over to the two saiya-jins to join the fight.  
  
********** Goten, Trunks and Marron stumbled into the kitchen a few hours later, they were all very beat up, their clothing was ripped and charred in some places by ki-blasts.  
  
"Ha, we got you good, Trunks!" Goten cackled as they all collapsed into chairs around the table.  
  
"No you didn't! You just caught me off guard; I wasn't expecting you two to attack together!" Trunks defended.  
  
"Yeah Goten, and Trunks kicked your ass with that ki attack he used, what's it called.Final Flash." Marron said.  
  
Trunks looked smug.  
  
"Yeah Marron, but you whipped him pretty well with your Kienzan." Goten said.  
  
Trunks glared at him, "Well how was I supposed to know that you can't block those?" he demanded, "And I seem remember that I wasn't the only one having trouble against them."  
  
Marron smiled and did a victory sign. "Yup, two mighty saiya-jins, trounced by a girl and her Distructo-disks." She declared, laughing.  
  
Trunks stared at her, 'I love the way she laughs, and her smile.so beautiful.'  
  
"Hey, Earth to Trunks! I asked you if you wanted some food, I sure could use some after that work out." Goten said, snapping Trunks out of his day dream.  
  
Trunks smirked, "Have you ever not wanted food?" He asked.  
  
"I think I was totally full once, but it might have been a dream. I don't remember; it was a long time ago." Goten said dreamily.  
  
"Ha! Trunks, you're one to talk, honestly you saiya-jins are all the same!" Marron said exasperated.  
  
Trunks just grinned at her.  
  
'He is so cute when he smiles like that.' She thought, getting up to raid the fridge before the two bottomless pits cleaned it out.  
  
Goten jumped up onto the counter so he could reach the food on very top shelves of the cabinet, but as he was digging around he slipped and fell on top of Marron and sent her flying straight into Trunks.  
  
Trunks caught Marron right as she was about to collide with the table.  
  
Marron looked up at Trunks; he was still holding her where he caught her. Their eyes locked and a tingling sensation ran through her.  
  
The spell was broken when a cry drifted up from the floor. "Ouch! That hurt!" Goten said as he sat up, rubbing his head.  
  
"Goten you idiot!" Trunks said, helping Marron stand up and stomping over to Goten.  
  
"I didn't mean to, I fell!" Goten said standing up.  
  
"YOU CAN FLY! Why are you climbing up on top of counters when you can just levitate?!" Trunks yelled.  
  
Marron just stood and stared at the two fighting friends, thinking about how good it had felt to be in Trunks' arms.  
  
**********  
  
Yay! Another chapter done! Go Me! Now this fic I starting to get a little length to it! Pretty soon my baby is gonna be all grown up! *sniff sniff* I'm so proud.  
  
Please take time to review! It really helps to know that someone appreciate what I'm doing!  
  
-aqua_illusion 


	4. Chapter 4

Hi! I want to thank all my reviewers, y'all really brighten my day!  
  
*****  
  
Disclaimer: (Sing to tune of Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles.)  
  
Aaahh, look at all the dumb disclaimers Aaahh, look at all the dumb disclaimers  
  
Aqua_illusion, writing the words to a story that she does not own, She's not alone. Fan Fiction writers, copying characters, plot lines and stories they see, 'Please don't sue me.'  
  
All the ripped off anime Where does it all come from? All the ripped off anime Where does it all belong?  
  
Mr. Toriyama is the creator and owner of Dragon Ball Z, Obviously not me I post my fanfics, but I don't make any money from stories I write So I guess it's alright.  
  
All the ripped off anime Where does it all come from? All the ripped off anime Where does it all belong?  
  
*****  
  
Ok, yeah, that was special. . . Don't ask. I guess I'm just in a weird mood, but hey, at least it rhymes. So, on with the story:  
  
*********************************************  
  
"Hey Goten?" Trunks asked hesitantly. The two saiya-jins were sitting alone after Marron had decided to go to sleep.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Does Marron have a mate?"  
  
Goten sat up startled and looked closely at Trunks. "No. . .Why do you ask?"  
  
"N-no reason." Trunks said trying to act innocent.  
  
"You like her!" Goten gasped.  
  
"What! Don't be ridiculous!" Trunks defended.  
  
"You do! Oh, this is so great! You and Marron would be so good for each other!" Goten said gleefully.  
  
"I do not like her!" Trunks seethed.  
  
"Heehee! This is going to be fun setting you two up!" Goten grinned and went off in his own little dream world, planning how to hook up his two friends.  
  
Trunks stomped off fuming, while Goten sat there devising his strategy.  
  
**********  
  
Marron paced around in her room, brushing her hair. She was trying very hard not to think of Trunks. After several minutes she decided that trying not to think of him only compounded her problem. She couldn't deny her feelings forever. She liked him, damn it, and even though she would never admit it to anyone else she might as well admit it to herself. If she accepted it, then she could deal with it better than failing to not think about him.  
  
She sighed, "Fine, I admit it! I like him, okay? Are you happy now subconscious? I said it! I like Trunks!" She declared to her empty room, trying to get her feelings out of her system.  
  
Unfortunately at that moment Kuririn was standing outside her door, his hand poised to knock as he heard her talking to herself. He stood there for a minute, contemplating. Slowly a mischievous expression slipped across his face, 18 would have wanted her daughter to settle down, and that was exactly what Kuririn was going to help her do. 'Hmmm,' he thought, 'this is gonna take some planning.'  
  
**********  
  
Kuririn walked downstairs and came across Goten deep in thought. Goten and Kuririn had each decided that they would need the other's help for whatever they would be planning to get Marron and Trunks together.  
  
Kuririn stepped up to Goten, "Hey Goten, I need your assistance. I overheard Marron in her room talking to herself. I have some vital information which I have gathered. It seems that she has taken a liking to our resident saiya-jin prince. This mission, Agent Son, should you chose to accept it, would be a covert matchmaking operation. What do you say?"  
  
Goten saluted, "You can count on me sir! I also have some information to add. Trunks asked me about the relationship status of Marron, I suspect he is interested, sir!"  
  
Kuririn smirked, "Excellent!" he said deviously, "Come Goten! We must plan our strategy immediately!"  
  
The two conspirators snickered, and got down to business.  
  
**********  
  
17 stood on a cliff halfway around the world from his niece and her cohorts.  
  
He was not truly worried, but starting to become concerned about these adversaries. Now that there were four of them, they were becoming more of a threat than an entertainment.  
  
'Hmmm, I shall have to do something about them soon.'  
  
**********  
  
Trunks awoke the next morning and stumbled down the stairs. He didn't even want to think about thinking until he had a good solid meal under his belt. He walked into the kitchen and sat down next to Goten. Kuririn gave him a plate of food and Trunks immediately dug in with a mumbled grunt of thanks.  
  
Marron walked in and plopped down in her seat. Trunks got up to get more food from the fridge. Kuririn decided now was the time to initiate 'Operation Matchmaker'. He glanced over at Goten and signaled to him to be ready. Goten gave a slight nod in acknowledgement.  
  
Trunks was walking past Kuririn when he suddenly stuck out his foot and neatly tripped Trunks right into Marron. The force of Trunks knocked her right out of her chair and they ended up in a somewhat tangled heap on the floor.  
  
Marron found herself in the slightly familiar position of being in Trunks' arms. They looked at each other in shock and their eyes met again. They both felt a warm and tingly feeling spread through them. Trunks was totally mesmerized by her. He stared at her lips, unconsciously moving closer and closer until they were only inches apart. At the last moment he lost his nerve and turned away. He got up and brushed himself off, stuttering apologies for his clumsiness and helping her up. They both sat back down and stared at each other across the table.  
  
Goten and Kuririn exchanged a smirk.  
  
Trunks mentally cursed himself. 'Why did I not kiss her? Why did I lose my nerve? Why was I even trying to kiss her in the first place?' He thought. 'Well that last one is a stupid question, I want to kiss her because she is beautiful and strong and perfect. . . GAAHH! Did I just think that?! Of course I did, it's true. . . GAAHH! Shut up brain!'  
  
Marron just gazed at him across the table, totally lost in day dreaming.  
  
Kuririn quietly snuck out of the room, discreetly dragging Goten behind him, leaving the two alone with each other.  
  
**********  
  
Later that day Marron and the two saiya-jin were outside preparing for their daily training. They had just completed stretching and warm ups, when Marron felt a sharp flare-up of ki. Trunks and Goten felt it too, they glanced up and concentrated. Marron gasped as she realized it was her father's ki being attacked by 17. She shook with fear and rage, how dare that monster attack her father! He had taken her mother away from her and he damn well wasn't going to take her father too!  
  
She honed in on the location and blasted off without a second thought.  
  
"Wait Marron!" Goten yelled after her, watching her form disappear into the distance.  
  
"Goten, you idiot, we have to follow her!" Trunks hollered. He flew off and Goten followed hot on his heels.  
  
**********  
  
Marron raced towards her father, she felt him losing. She knew that 17 was stronger and she only prayed that Kuririn could hold him off long enough for her to get there.  
  
She burst out onto the barren rocky area in time to see her father lose consciousness as 17 blasted him from the sky. She flew towards Kuririn and watched in terror as his body made a crater in the ground. He was alive, but barely.  
  
Marron glared at 17, he seemed amused at her pain. She felt the familiar rage burning within her. Launching herself at him, she attacked furiously, throwing kicks and punches. She used her anger and hate to fuel her onward, relentlessly searching for breaks in his defense. She found an opening and landed a solid punch in his stomach; he retaliated and kicked her in the face sending her plummeting downward. She recovered quickly and stopped her momentum before she hit the ground. She flew back up in an arc and fired a flurry of ki-blasts. 17 managed to dodge most of them and block the rest. He sneered at her.  
  
"Your pitiful attempts mean nothing to me; you will die like your weakling friends." He said in a cold monotone voice.  
  
Marron fumed, 'I will NOT be defeated' she cried inside her mind. She attacked again, moving as fast as she could, dodging and blocking while kicking and punching. The two fighters darted around in the air in intricate patterns. Marron would lash out, only to find air where 17 had once been, he in turn would attack her, but she was already gone.  
  
She had been fighting with all her energy and it was taking its toll, she could feel her power draining and Marron knew it was only a matter of time. She gathered the last of her ki together in an all out attack. She focused all her power in her hands. She stared at it and was mesmerized. The last of her life energy formed a perfect glowing orb; it was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. She looked down at it and then at 17, she felt her hate burning, even though everything else had been drained with exhaustion, the hate was still there. She took one last look around her and threw her life at him.  
  
Goten and Trunks arrived on the scene just in time to see the end of her fight, they felt her put the last of her ki into that one final blast. Trunks gasped in horror when he realized what that meant. She might not even have saved enough of her energy to live. He saw her shoot the blast and fall.  
  
He froze for a second in shock, "No," he whispered, "No! It can't end this way." He let his consciousness drop away and instinct took its place. He flew to Marron as fast as he could and caught her before she hit the ground; he felt the last scraps of her energy fading away. One single tear traced its way down her face. Trunks' heart shattered at that tear. He screamed in rage at the universe. He sensed his power growing and he knew what to do, he focused and felt some of his energy flow into her, it wasn't much, but it just might be enough to keep her alive. He deposited her gently on the ground, far enough away where she wouldn't be harmed by the battle.  
  
The very last of Marron's consciousness began to drift away from her. Somewhere she had registered Trunks catching her. She felt the darkness creeping at her and right before she blacked out she thought, 'No, I was wrong, hate wasn't the only thing left. Maybe. . . maybe love was left too.'  
  
**********  
  
Trunks turned and faced 17, his eyes smoldering with fury. Marron's blast had caught one side of 17 and inflicted only partial damage.  
  
Trunks flew up and let loose his rage. 'He tried to take her away from me.' He thought, 'and now he will pay." Trunks barely registered Goten fighting alongside him. The double teaming training that they had practiced paid off and the tide started to turn against 17. Trunks roared and attacked again and again, feeling the saiya-jin bloodlust in his veins, demanding that in the end his would kill, or he would die trying. He lashed out with fists and ki until the pain was gone, and he couldn't tell the difference between life and death.  
  
***************************************  
  
You know, writing this story is sort of a strange experience for me, it's like the story is writing itself. It just seems to flow through my fingers and on to the keyboard. When I go back and read the chapters I have written, it's like looking at something that I read a long time ago, I sort of half-remember it. It's a very weird feeling.  
  
Okay everybody, please review, it really means a lot to me, and it's inspiring knowing that someone actually likes what you're doing.  
  
"I can live for two months on a good compliment." -Mark Twain  
  
-aqua_illusion 


	5. Chapter 5

Okay, I'm really really really sorry that this chapter took so long! In the future I am going to try to have large chunks prewritten so I don't have delays like this.  
  
I want to thank the people who did review, but I also want to say that I am a little disappointed that there are so few reviewers, so if you read this, please take the ten seconds and hit the little button on the bottom of the page and make my day a hell of a lot brighter.  
  
Disclaimer: "Don't piss off the god of love" -Dende  
  
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Marron drifted in and out of consciousness. She could vaguely sense her ki fluctuating wildly. Exhaustion had crept up and the severe energy depletion she had suffered was commemorated by a pounding headache. Letting out a soft moan, she tried to sit up. Her injuries protested loudly and she collapsed back onto the ground.  
  
'Wait. . . ground?' she thought, confused, 'What am I doing on the ground?'  
  
The memories of the fighting came rushing back to her. Her eyes snapped open and she jumped up.  
  
Bad move.  
  
She was more seriously wounded than she had anticipated, but she managed to remain standing. Her desperation to know if the others had made it through kept her going. First she limped over to the crater that her father's body had created. Sliding down the side of the rocky basin, she slowly and painfully made her way towards him. He was still unconscious. Marron carefully lifted him up, ignoring her aching body. She gathered her ki and with great difficulty, slowly floated up to the edge of the crater and carefully put Kuririn down. Next she stumbled off searching for the Goten and Trunks. She remembered feeling their presence right before she passed out. She dragged herself along until she located two forms slumped down on the ground; both were extremely beat up and bloody, sprawled out in a heap on top of each other. She rushed towards them and gave them a quick inspection and was overjoyed to discover that they were still alive.  
  
She felt relief flooding through her; everyone had survived the fight. She struggled to drag Trunks and Goten back to where she had left Kuririn. Just as she was starting to contemplate how to get them all safely back home, she felt her strength draining from her again. Lugging everyone over to one place had proved to be too much for her injured and energy drained body and once again she blacked out.  
  
**********  
  
Kuririn sat down in the chair in between the two beds, each one occupied by a comatose saiya-jin. Marron's android technology had healed her faster than even their alien regenerative powers could match. Currently Marron was asleep; otherwise she would have been right there, watching over Goten and Trunks.  
  
Kuririn sighed. He could see how oblivious it was that Marron felt something for the purple-haired prince, but nothing could happen between them while the boy was out cold. Not only that, but his matchmaking cohort Goten was out of commission too.  
  
It was a good thing he had woken up and managed to transport everyone back here before anyone had lost too much blood. He singly handedly coped with cleaning everybody up. Marron had been unconscious for two whole days before she awakened, and it had been four days since then. Both her and Kuririn were still heavily bandaged and nowhere near a total recovery.  
  
He felt overwhelmed. They had been defeated so easily. 17 had managed to wipe them all out and still escape, and Kuririn didn't know how much damage had been inflicted upon the seemingly invincible android. There were four of them! And only one of him! Surly those odds had to count for something. But clearly it was not enough. Kuririn's frustration grew.  
  
He sat back and wondered if they would ever overcome 17. . .  
  
**********  
  
Trunks tossed and turned in bed. 'Marron! I have to save her! He threatened her, my Marron! Must kill him. Kill him!' He yelled in his mind, even as he slept.  
  
Suddenly Trunks' eyes snapped open. He found himself looking up into two familiar faces. 'Am I dead?' He asked himself, confusion clouding his thoughts.  
  
"Trunks you're awake!" Marron screamed with joy, "I was so worried about you!" She launched herself at him, hugging him fiercely. Trunks was thrilled to see Marron. She had been so weak, so depleted, he didn't know if she would make it, but here she was, embracing him. . . hard. . .too hard.  
  
Kuririn was concerned that she was accidentally strangling his hopefully- future-son-in-law. "Um, Marron sweetie? Trunks just woke up and I don't think that he is all the way better yet. . . it probably isn't healthy for his face to be that shade of blue. . . I think you're choking him."  
  
Marron immediately released Trunks and guiltily glanced over him. He was busy gasping for breath, and being completely dazed that she had actually hugged him.  
  
'Marron. . . Kuririn. . . What about Goten?' Trunks thought.  
  
"Where's Goten?" He asked.  
  
Marron's face fell as she moved aside so he could see Goten lying in the next bed. Goten looked in pretty bad shape. Trunks took a deep breath and tried to think of something reassuring to say.  
  
"Marron," Kuririn said, interrupting Trunks' train of thought, "Why don't you go grab something for all of us to eat okay?"  
  
She agreed and left the room.  
  
As soon as she was gone Kuririn sighed, "I'm so worried about her, about all of us. Is it always going to be this way? Will we always get beaten within an inch of our lives, and then recover and fight more, only to fail again? One day one of us might not make it back. . ."  
  
"You can't start thinking like that," Trunks interjected, "We will get stronger, we will fight harder."  
  
"I hope you're right Trunks. . . "  
  
**********  
  
Marron sat in the kitchen trying not to cry. She battled against emotional roller coaster that could only come from having a fight to the death. She could deal with most of the emotions that flooded through her, but she had been completely caught off guard by the feeling that had rushed over her when Trunks had woken up.  
  
But that was nothing compared to the gut wrenching sensation when she was looking Goten's motionless face, wishing as hard as she could that he would wake up and give her one of his cheerful grins and bounce around eating everything in sight. She clenched her fists as she felt tears threatening to fall.  
  
She heard the door open and she didn't even look up as Trunks entered the room.  
  
"Marron?" He said quietly as he moved towards her. She turned her back to him, trying to hide her tears.  
  
"Marron, I. . ." He hesitantly put his hand on her shoulder, shattering any barriers she had managed to put up.  
  
"Oh Trunks!" Marron cried, turning around and sobbing into his shirt. "I'll hunt 17 down and kill that bastard for what he's done to Goten! To you, to me!"  
  
Trunks timidly put his arm around Marron, trying to comfort her. "Goten will be fine, we all will, everything will be okay."  
  
He stood there holding her for a long time, silently praying that he wasn't lying to her.  
  
**********  
  
Marron finally let go of all her feelings and calmed down. She took a deep breath and looked up at Trunks.  
  
"Thank you," She whispered hugging him tightly one more time.  
  
He looked straight into her eyes; he could feel a little tiny smile at the corners of his mouth. They both moved towards each other, almost unconsciously, closer and closer. Before they knew it their lips brushed. Trunks moved slowly at first, unsure how Marron would react, but when he felt her responding he deepened the kiss. They both felt an indescribably feeling of harmony and elation wash over them.  
  
They finally broke away from each other and remained with their eyes locked together until they heard a familiar voice.  
  
"HA! Took you two long enough, but I knew it! I knew you would end up together!" Goten crowed joyfully from the doorway, grinning from ear to ear. Kuririn stood next to him looking smug.  
  
"GOTEN!" Marron and Trunks shrieked in synchrony, rushing over to him.  
  
"You scared me! Don't ever get hurt like that again!" Marron yelled embracing him.  
  
"I promise," He replied jokingly. Turning to Trunks, Goten glared threateningly, "Take good care of her man, she like a sister to me."  
  
The happy reunion was interrupted by a loud rumbling. Goten laughed and put a hand behind his head. "Whoops, I guess that's my reminder that my stomach has patiently waited for me to wake up long enough."  
  
Marron sighed and giggled, no matter what, come hell or high water, you could always count on Goten's stomach.  
  
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	6. Chapter 6

Hi everyone, I'm back! I have a new direction that I want to take with this story, so I had to rethink where I wanted to go. But now I'm trying to get back into action, so here is the next chapter.  
  
Disclaimer: "My word, you're smoking Mr. Popo! Are you all right?" - Kami, after Popo gets fried by the previous Kami.  
  
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"Okay," said Goten, addressing Marron and Trunks who were leaning against each other on the couch, "we need a new plan of action." He paused and paced around the room, absently messing with bandages wrapped around his arm. "We indisputably got our butts blasted off the face of the earth in our last fight, so we need to prevent that from happening the next time we go up against 17."  
  
Marron looked at him skeptically, "Goten, you do realize that we have been trying to do that for our entire lives right?"  
  
"But now I'm here." said Trunks, curling his tail playfully around Marron's waist.  
  
Marron laughed, "Mr. Ego is here! We're all safe now!"  
  
In response Trunks smirked and started tickling her mercilessly. He would have continued until she admitted defeat, if he hadn't been knocked over a few seconds later by a well aimed pillow, courtesy of Goten.  
  
"Look, this is serious. How are we going to deal with this? I'm all out of ideas." Sighed Goten, disheartened.  
  
"Well, I have been around the galaxy, so I do know more techniques than either of you, and I know a thing or two about androids." Trunks pointed out.  
  
"What do you suggest, any specific ideas?" Marron questioned.  
  
Trunks pondered for a moment, "Do we know of any weaknesses 17 has?"  
  
Goten snorted, "Weaknesses? You fought him too, did you see any vulnerability? I was too busy being knocked unconscious to notice much."  
  
"Well Marron's part android too, so maybe there is a weak spot that goes along with the cybernetic technology" Trunks said.  
  
"If only it were that simple." Marron remarked dryly. "Dr. Gero was no fool, he was careful with his designs."  
  
"So, what can we do?" asked Trunks.  
  
"I wish I knew," Goten replied.  
  
***************  
  
17 sat silently in Dr. Gero's lab, his physical damage had exceeded his expectations. He would plan more carefully in the future. Ah, yes, the future. 17 was not stupid, he did realize that he lacked a goal, a purpose for existence. Sure, he could finish his job of killing of his niece and her cohorts, but then what would he do? The novelty of killing innocent people wears off all too quickly; they were so weak and stupid that it almost became tedious to end their pitiful little lives.  
  
He almost let out a small sigh. He missed his sister, too bad he had to kill her. 18 had been a balancing force in his life. 17 felt that he had lost his purpose; perhaps what he needed was a new objective to bring more focus into his existence.  
  
His eyes drifted around the ruins of the lab, and came to rest on one particular clump of machinery. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards into a cold, deadly smile. This promised to be quite entertaining.  
  
********************  
  
Marron snuggled up against Trunks on the couch. Goten and Kuririn were asleep, so no one would interrupt their time together. Ever since their first kiss Trunks and Marron had been practically glued to each other.  
  
"Hey Trunks?" Marron asked, "What are your plans for life? You didn't exactly ask to be stuck here, so what were you going to do next?"  
  
"Well, I was searching for other remaining saiya-jin, but it looks like Goten is the only other one, so my quest seems to be over. Growing up, my father and I just wondered, we didn't have anyone or anything to be tied down to, so we drifted. I don't really know how to live any other way, and planning ahead isn't exactly part of that way of life." Trunks responded.  
  
Marron smiled, "I guess I can understand that. My whole life goal has been defeating 17, I never really thought about what I would do after that. From our track record, I'd say that I won't ever really have to worry about it. Don't think I'll live that long."  
  
"Well, since neither of us have any plans, we should stick together." Trunks suggested.  
  
"I guess I could stand hanging around you for a while longer." Marron teased.  
  
******************  
  
Marron crawled into her bed and curled up underneath the blankets. She knew that a healing body needed sleep, but it was hard for her to clear all the busy thoughts running through her head.  
  
She closed her eyes and listened to the familiar nighttime sounds echoing through the house. A small creak alerted her attention, but she told herself to ignore it. There was another faint sound, and this time Marron took notice. These weren't the normal quiet noises she was used to; it was almost like someone was inside her room.  
  
Marron didn't have time to ponder that theory before she felt a tiny prick on her arm and faded into oblivion.  
  
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Please review!  
  
-aqua_illusion 


	7. Chapter 7

Hi everyone! Thank you to everyone who reviewed! You people are wonderful.  
  
Disclaimer: "Are you sensing what I'm sensing Piccolo?" -Kuririn  
  
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17 smirked; his plan was working beautifully. He skimmed over the schematics one last time, rechecking his calculations. After all, this was quite a complex process. It would have been much easier to do psychological reprogramming on a full android, but 17 didn't mind the challenge. He smirked again and reached for the scalpel.  
  
***************  
  
Kuririn awoke suddenly as Goten and Trunks burst into his room.  
  
"She's gone!" Trunks yelled.  
  
"What?" asked Kuririn groggily.  
  
"Marron is gone." Goten explained, worry plainly written on his face.  
  
"Are you sure?" Kuririn asked.  
  
"Do you sense her ki? I haven't been able to since I woke up." Trunks said, on the verge of panicking.  
  
"Where could she have gone?" Kuririn wondered.  
  
"We found this in her room." Goten said, holding up an empty syringe.  
  
Kuririn carefully took the syringe and examined it. "Can you tell what was in it?"  
  
"I should be able to scan the residue with my scouter," Trunks realized, running out of the room to grab the small device.  
  
He ran back in a minute later, struggling to fit the scouter over his ear. After he attached it, he pressed the button on the side and green symbols flashed across the eyepiece. Trunks squinted at the readout, "It's a sedative, but there's something else too. I'm not sure what it is yet, these are strange readings,"  
  
Goten slumped down onto the floor, "She was drugged. . ." he said numbly.  
  
"Marron . . ." Kuririn said, shaking.  
  
Trunks erupted with a string of swear words, "I've just deciphered the other part of the substance. I can't believe this! It's full of subatomic robots. They're the most sophisticated I've ever seen! They look like they're specifically designed to affect Marron's cybernetics . . . It has to be 17, no one else would have the means, ability, or motive to create anything like this."  
  
"17 took her! What can we do? How can we save my little girl!" Kuririn yelled frantically.  
  
Goten buried his face in his hands, mumbling, "she's gone . . ." He grit his teeth, not even bothering to try and contain the tears spilling through his fingers.  
  
Trunks tried to contain the fierce internal struggle surging through him. He was a saiya-jin of royal blood, he would not cry! He fought to control the gnawing pain flooding his emotions.  
  
"What is he going to do to her?" Kuririn shouted, "Is she still alive?"  
  
"She must still be alive, 17 could have just killed her on sight, he wouldn't have had to go through this much trouble." Trunks replied.  
  
"What can we do?" Goten asked desperately.  
  
Trunks closed his eyes and clenched his fists, "I don't know . . ."  
  
**************************  
  
17 was beginning to get frustrated. This was the third time he'd had to restart her. Each time something would spark her memory and the whole process would get undone. He lightly traced the rapidly healing gash on his arm. The last time she had been reactivated 17 had been the cause of her memory trigger and she had attacked him before he had a chance to shut her off. This was much more difficult than he had anticipated, but he was not quite out of ideas, he would succeed yet.  
  
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Okay, this one was kind of short, but I felt it was a good stopping place. I'll try to make the next one longer. Please review!  
  
-aqua_illusion 


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